Help me decide before I order!

[Afghan Mac]

I was hoping you guys could help me make some final decisions before I place my orders at the end of the month. This is my first stab at watercooling (besides the H20) and I want to make sure I don't majorly screw anything up.

What I'm keeping from the current setup:
i7-920 C0 Stepping
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5
6x 2GB Corsair XMS3 1333 9-9-9-24
ASUS ROG Matrix 5870 P/2DIS/2GD5
OCZ 200GB Vertex LE
5x 1.5TB Seagate 7200.11
Areca ARC-1231ML RAID Controller
4x Scythe S-FLEX SFF21G
Blu-Ray Drive
Card Reader
Fan Controller

What is in my shopping carts, minus the bells and whistles:
Mountain Mods H2gO Case
2x ThermoChill PA120.2
3x5.25" to 5x3.5" Drive Cage
Alphacool Cape Bullseye Reservoir
5 points of Koolance QDC High Flow VL3N Fittings
Bitspower Compression Fittings
EK Supreme HF CPU Block
Swiftech MCW80 GPU Block
2x Swiftech MCP355 Pumps
Heatkiller Dual DDC-Case Top
Koolance INS-FM17 Flow Meter
Tygon R3400 3/8" ID (1/2" OD) - Black
Corsair AX1200 Power Supply
Silver Killcoil
EK-FB KIT GA X58 Motherboard Blocks

My intentions are to mount 1 PA120.2 in the front with push fan facing outward, 1 on the outside of the back with push fan facing outward, replace the side window with mesh for an intake. Reservoir will be mounted in the 120mm cutout on the front bottom of the case. Loop will be Res>Pump>Rad>CPU>MB>Rad>GPU. 3/8" ID 1/2" OD tubing with springs, compression fittings and swivel elbows all over the place, and QDCs on the rads with one between GPU and Res. I'm hoping to cut some holes in the vid card shroud keep it rather than using sinks.

I have some little quirks being that I'm in Afghanistan. First of all, I have no access to distilled water, so it will cost me the same as specialty fluids. Second, I don't want to have fans blowing from the front, since due to the dust here I'll have to use DEMCifilters to keep the dust out. Third, I don't want to have fans on the outside of the case, I'd like to keep the profile down.

Some questions you guys could help me out with:

Is 3/8" hose the right move?

Will those fans provide enough airflow, and will that configuration work?

Am I making the right move with the 2 MCP355s or would a D5 be a better move?

Is there a non-conductive fluid I could use besides distilled, since the price will be the same? Something that won't gunk up.

Are these rads the right move? I'd prefer to use a HWLabs GT Stealth in the back so I could keep it internal, but the reviews are pretty bad for it.

Should I really bother with the motherboard blocks?


Any opinions you guys could give me before I drop 2 grand on this stuff would really help.

Thanks!

 

[wesley]

Hey there, ans in color. Check out OCN and XS if you need more info.

Is 3/8" hose the right move?
Yes

Will those fans provide enough airflow, and will that configuration work?
Not sure about the fans. I am using Scythe GTs. Good flow and low noise.

Am I making the right move with the 2 MCP355s or would a D5 be a better move?
Dual pumps gives you some guarantee in case 1 breaks down. Go duo, don't think there are many WC shops over there.

Is there a non-conductive fluid I could use besides distilled, since the price will be the same? Something that won't gunk up.
Not sure. They are really expensive and do you plan to ship them? Might as well ship distilled.

Are these rads the right move? I'd prefer to use a HWLabs GT Stealth in the back so I could keep it internal, but the reviews are pretty bad for it.
Stealths needs very high speed fans to get performance. The PAs are legendary but flushing the rads are out a big pain. The Swiftechs 320s are great value for money.

Should I really bother with the motherboard blocks?
Unless you plan to do insane OCs, the onboard heatsinks will do fine.

 

[jedigeorge]

Where do you put the second pump in the loop? I'm curious because this setup is similar to what I'm thinking of doing, also for a first water-cooling setup. Is it just so you have a spare lying around?

 

[sok0]

The only way youre gonna fit the back radiator internally is to use a mATX board. And the H2g0 is definitely not a beginners case. There is not much space to work with in the bottom section unless you dont use dvd drives. And once you get all the tubing snaked threw and all the wiring, you cant really remove anything easily in the bottom section. And i can tell you for a fact that 6 hard drives in that case will be a NIGHTMARE. It's a nice case in the end though, just takes a lot of extra effort to get the wiring hidden, and the tubing runs as clean as possible.

The UFO case might work better for you, I know it would have for me just because of the extra space to work with.

All of the parts look good, but you dont need anywhere near a 1200W power supply. You need maybe a 850W and that would be just to leave you room for expansion. I dont see the point of the flow meter nor the point of using 5 quick disconnects either. Are you going to be changing parts every month or something? The only thing that you might need them on would be a video card, so you could pull it out to swap it fairly easily, but other than that, no point.

 

[Cruiza]

All that money and no full cover block for the 5870?? And why only DDR3-1333? I know it won't that much of a difference, but still seems odd. I'd recommend the Gentle Typhoons over those fans.

 

[Afghan Mac]

All that money and no full cover block for the 5870?? And why only DDR3-1333? I know it won't that much of a difference, but still seems odd. I'd recommend the Gentle Typhoons over those fans.

It's non-reference and I have yet to find a full-cover block that's compatible with it. The 1333 I'll probably upgrade next year or the year after when I do the MB and Proc when Intel comes out with it's new chipset, but I got a good deal on the stuff so I can't really complain.

I am thinking about trying out some new fans. I bought the S-Flex's because of the FDB, since I've had the sand out here eat up 4 fan bearings already. I just want to make sure whatever I get will hold up, and I admittedly don't know too much about bearings.


Thanks for the ideas guys, keep 'em coming! I'm still reading everything I can find before I place the orders at the end of the month. I'm up around $2300 so far, I'll make a build log when I start so everyone can see it.

Has anybody here tried putting the GPU block inside a stock shroud? I could only find one case of someone trying it and he kind of butchered it. Any thoughts?

 

[Shiny]

Any concerns I'd have were addressed above by others. I'm noting your keeping some parts, so I won't go recommending anything you're not asking about.

Is 3/8" hose the right move?
Minimal difference between 3/8ths and 1/2. Some hardcore enthusiasts recommend 1/2 - I use 3/8ths for space concerns. You'll be fine.

Will those fans provide enough airflow, and will that configuration work?
Those fans provide 75 cfm, which is more then the gentle typhoon set. They are louder, but as they from your old rig, I assume you don't mind the noise. As for configuration, try to make sure you feeding the coldest air possible through the radiators. That'll have more impact then positive or negative air pressure.

Am I making the right move with the 2 MCP355s or would a D5 be a better move?
I have both 355's and d5s in different rigs. They are both solid. Two mcp355's are going to be pretty easy to place, very powerful, and will provide reduncancy in case of failure. They are also louder. Between dual 355 or a single d5, I'd go with the dual set.

Is there a non-conductive fluid I could use besides distilled, since the price will be the same? Something that won't gunk up.
Since you are ordering it, you can look for laborotory distilled water. The distilled at the local stores isn't really that good anyway, so in a way you end up getting what I'd have gotten anyway.

Are these rads the right move? I'd prefer to use a HWLabs GT Stealth in the back so I could keep it internal, but the reviews are pretty bad for it.
The stealth have less heat dissipation. They are smaller, made to be easier to mount. PA is a solid choice.

Should I really bother with the motherboard blocks?
it doesn't really add anything. Some people choose to, or need to, but you don't really need it.

 

[Afghan Mac]

Where do you put the second pump in the loop? I'm curious because this setup is similar to what I'm thinking of doing, also for a first water-cooling setup. Is it just so you have a spare lying around?

I'm buying a dual top. The main reason being that since I'm in Afghanistan and one fails, I don't want to wait 3 weeks to get my computer running again. Also, the added head pressure will hopefully negate some of the QDCs and elbows.

The only way youre gonna fit the back radiator internally is to use a mATX board. And the H2g0 is definitely not a beginners case. There is not much space to work with in the bottom section unless you dont use dvd drives. And once you get all the tubing snaked threw and all the wiring, you cant really remove anything easily in the bottom section. And i can tell you for a fact that 6 hard drives in that case will be a NIGHTMARE. It's a nice case in the end though, just takes a lot of extra effort to get the wiring hidden, and the tubing runs as clean as possible.

The UFO case might work better for you, I know it would have for me just because of the extra space to work with.

All of the parts look good, but you dont need anywhere near a 1200W power supply. You need maybe a 850W and that would be just to leave you room for expansion. I dont see the point of the flow meter nor the point of using 5 quick disconnects either. Are you going to be changing parts every month or something? The only thing that you might need them on would be a video card, so you could pull it out to swap it fairly easily, but other than that, no point.

I'm set on the H2gO mainly because of shipping reasons and size. We don't have much space here in Afghanistan, so having a full tower out here would be quite difficult, and dangerous to ship back via APO mail. The intention is to chop a hole in the back for the backplane, so if I need to change a hard drive I can just slide it out the back. The UFO case is just to big, it's basically twice the size of the Antec Nine Hundred I have now, and thats too big as it is.

The Corsair AX1200 is more for future-proofing. I have a TX750 now, and I hate the thing. I'll never go non-modular again, and I've already opened it up and pruned off all the leads I didn't need. The AX1200 will give me some room if I ever decide to Crossfire, and as I intend on upgrading at the end of next year to the extreme edition of whatever Intel's new chipset is, I want to have some extra power on standby for that.

The 5 QDCs (2 on each rad, one between the GPU and Res) are mainly so if I do have to change something out or take off the top shelf, I don't lose any coolant. It would really suck to have to change out something on the bottom, spill out some water while moving stuff, and have to wait 3 weeks to use the computer again. The other bright idea was that if I decided to switch to dual loop or change around the order of some things, I could just unplug some hoses and move them. Also, it struck me when you mentioned them; having the back one on QDCs lets me take off the back Rad and stick the case back in the original shipping box. Staying under 70lbs and maintaining a reasonable size is my biggest goal. If I have to go to a different base or end up quitting (been here 5 years already) this becomes a real factor.

I was looking at the flowmeter so I could trigger a shutdown right away if something happens with the pumps. I don't really care what the flow actually is, but I figured it shouldn't restrict too much since it has a 3/8" ID and that's the tubing size I'll be using.


Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas guys, it's really helping me out!


Oh, and I really have my heart set on the Seasonic X-1200 if they release the thing soon. I've been drooling over the X-750 for a while.

 

[Cruiza]

It's non-reference and I have yet to find a full-cover block that's compatible with it. The 1333 I'll probably upgrade next year or the year after when I do the MB and Proc when Intel comes out with it's new chipset, but I got a good deal on the stuff so I can't really complain.

I am thinking about trying out some new fans. I bought the S-Flex's because of the FDB, since I've had the sand out here eat up 4 fan bearings already. I just want to make sure whatever I get will hold up, and I admittedly don't know too much about bearings.


Thanks for the ideas guys, keep 'em coming! I'm still reading everything I can find before I place the orders at the end of the month. I'm up around $2300 so far, I'll make a build log when I start so everyone can see it.

Has anybody here tried putting the GPU block inside a stock shroud? I could only find one case of someone trying it and he kind of butchered it. Any thoughts?

Ah, gotcha. Regarding the GPU block inside the stock shroud, I haven't really seen it successfully done on any ATI cards. AFAIK, only the 400-series (and maybe some 200-series) cards make it easy to do.

 

[Afghan Mac]

Ah, gotcha. Regarding the GPU block inside the stock shroud, I haven't really seen it successfully done on any ATI cards. AFAIK, only the 400-series (and maybe some 200-series) cards make it easy to do.

Apparently the heatsink is just attached by screws. I should even be able to keep the LED "MATRIX" display on top. The hoses should come through right where the "ASUS" is printed on the top. I'm just not sure how to make up for the thickness of the shroud, I might have to grind down the standoff/nut thing. I don't want to try anything until I have the block here, I'm not sure if it uses paste or a pad for the TIM.

 

[Cruiza]

Hmmm, yeah it looks possible. I don't think the reference coolers are quite as friendly that way, though. Also, I'm pretty sure modding the stock cooler is any way will void the warranty.

 

[sok0]

Hah, I dont think you realize how hard it would be to "change" something in the h2g0 case. Trust me I have one. To take the top tray out would probably take you 3-4 hours and be a pain in the royal ass. And you risk cracking the tray everytime you do something with the case because there are about 10 screws that go into the tray from the panels and inside framing. The side panel without a window has to be removed, the screws hardly ever line up perfectly unless you take the whole thing apart.

You would probably have been just as good off using the matrix air cooled, and 1 radiator for the cpu, with air cooling for the motherboard blocks. And not noticed anything different. A lot easier to ship that way as well. And if you going to ship the case. you might as well put a drain valve in it, because you should never ship filled with water imo.

 

[Afghan Mac]

Hah, I dont think you realize how hard it would be to "change" something in the h2g0 case. Trust me I have one. To take the top tray out would probably take you 3-4 hours and be a pain in the royal ass. And you risk cracking the tray everytime you do something with the case because there are about 10 screws that go into the tray from the panels and inside framing. The side panel without a window has to be removed, the screws hardly ever line up perfectly unless you take the whole thing apart.

You would probably have been just as good off using the matrix air cooled, and 1 radiator for the cpu, with air cooling for the motherboard blocks. And not noticed anything different. A lot easier to ship that way as well. And if you going to ship the case. you might as well put a drain valve in it, because you should never ship filled with water imo.

Actually I haven't ordered anything yet, I'll start ordering in about 2 weeks on payday, so I still have time to change my mind. I've been planning this out for about 3 weeks now. Prior to that I was leaning towards a Lian Li for the weight reduction, or the Antec Twelve Hundred for all the space.

I've thought about the space constraints in the case and I actually like it. I'm planning to cut out another 3x5.25" bay in the back and stick in a backplane that will hold 5 3.5" SATA drives, which should work for me, and make them externally removable. The Corsair AX1200 is modular, if I had to I could plug in stuff by removing the back (side?) panel, but I believe I have to remove or loosen the cards first, right? I'll have QDCs on the radiators and one on the return line to the reservoir, so if I did have to pull out the MB nothing would be spilled. The res will be mounted on the front fan cutout onto a clear piece of plexiglass, with the Dual-DDC right behind it. If necessary, I should be able to yank those from the back (side?) panel as well.

I'm a little worried about getting the backplane cut out so everything will line up flush, but from what I can see I should be able to manage it. I'm ordering the 3 x 5.25 optical drive cage so I'll try that first (bezel looks like it'll be close) and if not I'll just cut a flush hole and throw in some standoffs like on the front. Do you remember, is the plexiglass they use for the drive cage on the bottom the same as everywhere else in the case, particularly the feet?

When you say the MB tray has the potential to crack, do you mean by just moving the case? If it's that bad, maybe I'll order a piece of steel or aluminum and just make my own, I was kind of put off by that to begin with.

With the Matrix, as much as love the looks, that fan is annoying as heck when it spools up. When it goes to 100% during POST it sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Since people seem to be saying I'm overdoing it with the rads, maybe I'll get a HWLabs GT Stealth and mount it all internally with the fan hanging over the last PCIe slot since I don't use it anyway. That and I really want to see if I can mount the GPU block inside the stock shroud and make it look good.

I may just stick with air for the MB like you said, I really only want to push the CPU to 4 or 4.2, so hopefully that won't cook the MB too much.

Other than the time ripping it apart and the MB tray, how you you like the case? What color did you get, and if you got it with a handle, is the handle enough to really carry some weight? Having said what I said, do you think the case is a good match?